...for a penny

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  Matthew 10:29

Several years ago Glen transitioned from a position where our financial needs were covered to one where we faced a mounting deficit.  Sensing God’s call to do so, he went from a managerial position with InterVarsity back to full-time campus staff at Potsdam and Clarkson, and that involved relinquishing access to certain regional and area funding.  

We grew anxious as the deficit increased.  The call had been clear to us both, but sometimes we (well - okay - I) second-guessed because of the financial strain.

On my prayer walk one morning, I was feeling stressed, anxious, and depressed.  My praying was distracted as I struggled to keep my focus on God’s goodness rather than our overwhelming need.  The deficit wasn’t a personal one, it was funding for our work with InterVarsity.  Glen had already taken a significant cut in pay, and was considering taking on another job to support the work on campus.  He was beginning to think about selling the house.  

I noticed a penny lying in the snow and dirt on the side of the road, but I kept walking.  In our family, Glen is the one who picks up the pennies.  A few yards beyond that penny, I felt a nudge in my spirit to go back and pick it up.  I kept walking.  I didn’t want to retrace my steps for a penny!  

The nudge became so strong that I felt to ignore it might be a mistake. Retracing my steps, I took off my glove, bent down, and retrieved the dirty penny from the street.  Once I picked it up, I could see that a cross shape had been cut right out of its center!

The penny was a timely reminder of all of the ways God had provided for us in the past.  Tears came as I realized it was a reminder that He was with us in the present!  I hid the penny in my pocket, the thought in my heart.

Once I got home and settled, the phone rang.  It was a dear friend from ages past, and a former prayer partner.  She told me that she had strongly felt God directing her to send a check to InterVarsity toward our account (on condition of anonymity - which I am respecting here).  The check covered our deficit and gave us the margin Glen needed to raise the funding necessary to keep him on campus.  My friend had no idea about the specific financial need!  And she refused to let me be too effusive in my thanks.  “It’s God’s money,” she said.

I still have that penny.  It’s God’s money.

Beverly